More Subpoenas May Come Soon In Bridgegate Investigation
So far, the committee has issued over 30 subpoenas to individuals and organizations including the office of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, his campaign operation, and several of his close aides.
The subpoenas requested documents and communications related to the closures, which caused days of paralyzing traffic in Fort Lee, N.J. In some cases, multiple subpoenas were issued to the same target asking for additional information. Some Democrats have alleged the lane closures were ordered by Christie's allies to retaliate against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for declining to endorse the governor's re-election bid.
Last Thursday, the committee sent out a statement saying it would meet Tuesday to "update members concerning the status of its investigation and convene in closed session."
The source who spoke to Business Insider said the meeting would include the committee's special counsel Reid Schar updating members on which documents have been returned in response to the subpoenas issued so far. Once in closed session, the source said the members would discuss the possibility of issuing more subpoenas. They declined to discuss who would get the subpoenas.
The committee is comprised of 12 members of the New Jersey Legislature including eight Democrats and four Republicans. It is co-chaired by two Democrats; Assemblyman John Wisniewski and State Senator Loretta Weinberg.
In addition to the Legislature's committee, the so-called Bridgegate scandal is also being investigated by the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, and there have been multiple signs that probe is heating up.
On Friday, ABC News reported U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman convened a grand jury to investigate the allegations, which indicates the federal inquiry has moved into the criminal phase. Additionally, ABC reported the jurors heard testimony from Christie's press secretary, Michael Drewniak. Late Sunday evening, Main Justice reported David Wildstein, a former Port Authority official and associate of Christie's who was instrumental in the order to close the lanes, spent last week "camped at the U.S. Attorney's office" in Newark, N.J. Esquire subsequently reported Wildstein was "cooperating" with Fishman's investigation.
In the face of these investigations, lawyers hired by Christie's office released their own report late last month. That report concluded "Governor Christie did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes."